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2009 | 2008

1-20 of 138 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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Boos! & Whoop-doos!: 12 Months of Toilet Plunkers and Dumpster Diamonds!

23 December 2009 9:55 AM, PST | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »

The End of 2009? Whoop-doo! This year has been one hellatious shit storm from the get-go. Pregnant ladies and babies, The Great Depression Part II, pig flu, more than a handful of horrible shootings, a balloon boy, Tiger's indiscretions, and our first black president. Not to mention more dead celebrities than I can shake a stick at. Every time I turned around, some other atrocious calamity was happening right before my eyes. Making 2009 one of the most interesting years of this entire decade. According to Michael Ruppert in his film Collapse its only going to get worse before it gets better. Yes, the Teens are going to see more than half of your friends and family dead. Take account of the folks around you. By the time 2020 rears its ugly head, most of these people will be gone. Turned to dust and painful memories. My advice to you this coming New Year? »

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Wong Kar-Wai Chooses His Action Lady: Song Hye-Gyo

20 December 2009 4:47 PM, PST | Twitch | See recent Twitch news »

Ha... Last time we dealt with Miss Song, quite the peculiar shitstorm ensued: we snarkily mentioned a Chinese news report claiming that Song Hye-Gyo and Wentworth Miller would join Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa's 急先锋 (Vanguard), then some Korean "journalists" passed our piece through the good ole Babelfish, which likely made them believe we had some kind of scoop and it was all signed and ready to go (of course, it wasn't the case). Song's management was clearly ticked off by the news, claiming they hadn't heard a thing about the project, making it the umpteenth case of Chinese media playing wishful thinking. But this time we can safely say it's not the case, as Wong Kar-Wai has just cast Song Hye-Gyo for his upcoming Yip Man biopic 一代宗师 (The Great Master).

Stella Entertainment tried to keep this under wraps, but the news was leaked today by the Chinese media, »

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Magnet to Release Survival Of The Dead

18 December 2009 12:42 PM, PST | iconsoffright.com | See recent Icons of Fright news »

Great news for George Romero fans.  Magnolia's subdivision Magnet Releasing has secured the rights to release Survival Of The Dead, Romero's entry in his Dead series.

Following a recent trend in the distribution of indie films, Magnet will release the film on Video on Demand a month before it debuts in theatres.  As low budget filmmakers and studios struggle to find new ways to get their films to the fans, the VOD option is one viable measure they deem worth trying.  Whether Magnet will release Survival to theatres wide or limited, the studio has yet to indicate.  Given the poor handling of Diary Of The Dead's release, at least it seems that Magnet is giving Survival a legitimate effort.

Though Romero doesn't have nearly the cache he used to, he still makes films that are relevant and challenge an audience.  He's got a huge following, and his films deserve to be seen, »

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Casting Notes: Taylor Lautner Gets Another Action Movie; Steve Carell Books a Drama

18 December 2009 8:43 AM, PST | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »

After nearly casting him out of New Moon then watching the actor become one of the movie's biggest selling points, Summit has decided to keep on loving Taylor Lautner. The company has bought into Cancun, an action movie with a slightly misleading title. When I see 'Cancun' I don't think of a teen version of "Taken meets Die Hard," which is how Variety is describing this one. Lautner would be "an out-of-place college kid who travels with a girl to Cancun on a break. While there, the girl and her friends are taken hostage by a drug cartel and he is forced to save them." (That's per THR.) In other words, the kid is being groomed as a dreamy new action star -- that's what doing some high kicks on SNL will get you. I say put him in a ring with Tony Jaa and then we'll have a party. »

- Russ Fischer

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อาการเมาค้างผลสืบเนื่องมา (Yeah, That’s Right)

17 December 2009 2:54 PM, PST | WeAreMovieGeeks.com | See recent WeAreMovieGeeks.com news »

Okay, no, We Are Movie Geeks has not been bought out by some Thai company who changing everything from the inside out.  In case you can’t read the language, it says, “The Hangover Sequel is Coming,” as in “coming to Thailand.”  At least, that’s what a source is telling Chud.  Evidently, the sequel to the breakout, comedy hit this year will see the guys taking a trip to the Southeast Asian country.  This opens a whole can of worms for the three involved.  Here’s hoping beyond hope that writer/director Todd Phillips can score a Tony Jaa cameo a la Mike Tyson in the first film.

Chud is also quick to point out that the setting of Thailand was initially planned for Phillips’ follow-up to Old School, a sequel that never, quite made it off the ground.  Many jokes from that film (tentatively titled Old School Dos »

- Kirk

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Kick Ass Trailer for Chilean Action Film Mandrill, Fantastic Fest ‘09 Best Picture Winner

11 December 2009 1:39 AM, PST | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »

I love being completely wowed out of nowhere by a film trailer, and the trailer for the upcoming Chilean action film Mandrill did just that. Written and directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, the film stars Marko Zaror as " a young hitman who will not relent until he has exacted bloody revenge on the man who killed his mother many years ago." The two have also worked together on the South American action films Kiltro and Mirage Man. I haven't yet seen those films, but after this trailer I'm feeling the strongest of urges hunt them down. According to Twitch, who graciously brought this trailer to the Internet, the fight scenes in this film don't use wires or CG. And I've heard from other sources that Zaror does his own stunt work. If that's true, then Marko Zaror may in fact be the Chilean Tony Jaa. Check out the trailer below: »

- Devindra Hardawar

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When Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa Meet Prison Break - Update from Song Hye-Gyo's Management

4 December 2009 2:44 AM, PST | Twitch | See recent Twitch news »

Update 12/4

- Just a little update on this. Korean media picked up on this item (crediting it to Twitch and not Chinese media, which is kind of laughable. We're only the messenger, folks) by contacting Song Hye-Gyo's management on the matter, and they promptly denied any involvement. So either they'll get a script under their Xmas tree courtesy of Wong's folks, or it's another chapter in the "Chinese media plays wishful thinking" saga. Guess next in line will be Miller's folks. Oh well. That's what fervid imagination is for.

As reported last September, we're not exactly dealing with a confirmed deal, particularly as none of the major Chinese portals have an entry for the film yet, but Raymond Wong's dream Hk$ 150 million project 急先锋 (Vanguard) is creating more buzz, and going even more insane with potential casting shenanigans. You knew about the possibility of Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa cooperating for this, »

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Ninja Assassin

25 November 2009 9:42 AM, PST | The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news »

Ninja Assassin

Directed by: James McTeigue

Cast: Rain, Naomie Harris

Running Time: 1 hr 35 min

Rating: R

Release Date: November 25, 2009

Plot: After a hardened Ninja (Rain) refuses to kill for the boss, he is ostracized from the clan and hunted by his former brothers.

Who’S It For? Fans of martial arts movies, and we’re talking old school, 1970’s style blood n’ guts.

Expectations: It has to be dumb with a name like Ninja Assassin, because it’s trying way too hard. It’s like naming a movie Kick Ass Cowboys or Machete B*tch (dibs).

Scorecard (0-10)

Actors:

Rain as Raizo: Rain’s real name is Ji Hun Jeong, but you have to have a lead actor that’s as obnoxiously glitzy as Ninja Assassin. So, I guess when I finally get around to making Machete B*tch, I’ll have to cast someone with a stage name like Razor or Sunrise. »

- Morrow McLaughlin

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Ong Bak 2 Blu-ray Details with New Ong Bak 3 Footage

24 November 2009 10:08 AM, PST | TheHDRoom | See recent TheHDRoom news »

Tony Jaa in Ong Bak 2: The Beginning is leaping his way to the Six-Shooter Film Series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on February 2.

The "collector's edition" Blu-ray set will include a high-def transfer and the original Thai language track as well as an English dub. Both should be in lossless audio but that is unconfirmed at this time.

Magnet is packing in a decent number of bonus features onto Ong Bak 2's Blu-ray and DVD release including never-before-seen footage from Ong Bak 3 and the following:

HDNet: A Look at Ong Bak 2 Behind-the-scenes featurettes Making-of featurettes Interviews w/cast and crew including Tony Jaa Trailer

Pre-order Ong Bak 2: The Beginning on Blu-ray at a discounted price from Amazon.com.

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‘The Treasure Hunter’ Featuring Kato from ‘Green Hornet’

19 November 2009 8:37 AM, PST | ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news »

There are few people that are aware of the growing movie market overseas. Thailand is emerging as a serious threat in the marital arts action genre with the help of Tony Jaa (Ong Bak); Russia is proving they can make a slick and entertaining film thanks to studios like Disney (Black Lightning); and, of course, Japan has always been the source for many Hollywood studios’ “inspired” horror remakes (The Ring, The Grudge). One foreign market that tends to be brushed off as only doing kung-fu or martial art films is China.

Today we have a trailer for a new Asian film which has the odd IMDb genre label of romance/sci-fi called Ci Ling (Treasure Hunter). Why are we at Screen Rant sharing this trailer with you? Because Treasure Hunter stars an actor most English-speaking audiences may not be familiar with yet, but will be next year: Jay Chou. Chou »

- Paul Young

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Ong Bak 2: The Beginning Review

30 October 2009 4:41 AM, PDT | Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news »

If the balletic and elegant fighting styles of Jackie Chan and Jet Li are the tap and swing of the martial arts world, then Tony Jaa and his Thai cohorts are practicing the Lambada. Jaa, who rose to international popularity in 2005 with Ong Bak, introduced the mainstream to the brutal and direct art of Muy Thai. Utilizing a mixture of feet, elbows and knees—and your head if you can figure a way to fit it in—Muy Thai is Jaa’s signature style. The two come in a package, and after a few other forays into the genre, they are both back with Ong Bak 2. The new entry ups the ante of the original by including more stunts, more enemies and a bigger budget which results in some of the most exciting fight scenes ever put to film.

Jaa, who does all of his own stunts, allegedly without »

- Nathan Bartlebaugh

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Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (review)

29 October 2009 1:07 PM, PDT | www.flickfilosopher.com | See recent FlickFilosopher news »

A few years back, the dynamic, gritty, exciting martial arts action flick Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior gave us country bumpkin (Tony Jaa) in modern Bangkok, hunting down a relic stolen from his home village and busting it up with mobsters and street punks and all manner of bad guys. Now, Jaa is back, and they’re not kidding about it being “the beginning.” Rewinding to 15th century Thailand, this is the downright Dickensian tale of a royal boy kidnapped by slavers and raised by thieves who grows into a man, Tien (Jaa), who vows revenge on everyone who’s wronged him. While the first flick was thoroughly grounded in the here and now, this one sings with a fantastical flair that recalls everything from The Lord of the Rings to Apocalypto to The Empire Strikes Back (in Luke’s Jedi training), along with its own unique touches: there’s a »

- MaryAnn Johanson

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Ong Bak 2: The Beginning Movie Review

27 October 2009 8:00 PM, PDT | MoviesOnline.ca | See recent MoviesOnline news »

Let's get this out of the way right now: Ong Bak 2: The Beginning really has nothing to do with Ong Bak aside from the fact that Tony Jaa is in it. Sure, you'll hear claims that he's playing the earlier incarnation of his character from the original, but that won't mean anything to you. Because you don't care about a plot. You came to see Tony Jaa fight a crocodile.

Actually, Tony Jaa doesn't get to fight a crocodile. His younger self does. That's the tip of the iceberg for what happens in this movie. Check this out, Ong Bak:

Is recruited to join a village where they'll teach him to be a badass. And magic, for some reason. Runs on top of a herd of elephants only to school their punk asses with a slap on the head. Ups the ante of the 30-dude arm breaking scene »

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Review: Ong Bak 2

23 October 2009 5:15 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

By Todd Gilchrist (reprinted from 9/23/09)

Cinematically speaking, there may be nothing worse than when an action star or purveyor of thrills starts taking himself too seriously. Such a transformation almost invariably begets a personal crusade, which often takes the form of a vanity project, and usually turns out about as well as The Quest did for Jean-Claude Van Damme, or On Deadly Ground did for Steven Seagal. Thai martial artist Tony Jaa launched his career with the original Ong Bak, and after that film and its superior follow-up, The Protector, made him an international sensation, he apparently started believing his own hype: Jaa not only co-directed Ong Bak 2, his latest film, but conceived it as the ultimate Thai adventure, reinforcing his own legend with a self-aggrandizing historical epic that somehow proves that you can actually make a movie without a plot - which unfortunately but perhaps predictably isn't a compliment. »

- Cinematical staff

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Ong Bak 2: The Ultimate Art Film

23 October 2009 4:00 PM, PDT | Vanity Fair | See recent Vanity Fair news »

Is Muay-thai master Tony Jaa the next Jean-Louis Trintignan? If you’re one of those cinephiles who read this morning’s New York Times over scones and tea and frowned as Tony “Soprano” Scott’s review put a bullet in the head of Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist and Manohla Dargis crash-landed Hilary Swank’s blatant Oscar grab Amelia on the runway, you’re probably wondering, What’s an armchair intellectual to see this weekend? Well, the film factories of Southeast Asia might have a refreshing answer for you in Ong Bak 2: The Beginning. Those of you who remember when Tony Jaa first kneecap-smashed his way into our martial-arts hearts with the original Ong Bak may be wiping your monocle in disbelief as you read this recommendation. Yet, while you’re unlikely to find Anthony Lane and David Denby debating Jaa’s status as the new “New Bruce Lee, »

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Indie Spotlight: New Releases for Oct. 23

23 October 2009 3:02 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

Here's a quick look at what's opening in limited release this weekend. If they're not playing where you live, keep an eye out as they make the rounds. And if all else fails, there's always DVD....

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (pictured) is something of a prequel to Ong Bak, the Thai sensation from a few years ago. Tony Jaa, whose multi-discipline fighting skills are beyond impressive, plays a guy who fights a lot. Cinematical's Todd Gilchrist sums up the way many of us felt when we first caught the film at South By Southwest: The fight scenes are spectacular; unfortunately, the plot that holds them together is incomprehensible and takes itself too seriously. At Rotten Tomatoes, the critics are almost evenly split between yea and nay, with the only question being whether the awesomeness of the fights is enough to compensate for the dullness of the rest of it. »

- Eric D. Snider

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The Week in Film: What will fly at the box office? And what won't?

23 October 2009 2:13 PM, PDT | AfterElton.com | See recent AfterElton.com news »

Editor's note: This week we're welcoming Mike Wong on board to write our weekly movie column.

Another week, another set of movies. Hard to believe it’s already nearly November when the Oscar-bait starts being dangled, and unless you didn’t see any movies last week, I’m sorry to say it’s a good week to stay home or do something not movie related.

The first of the wide releases this week is Amelia starring the swanky Hilary Swank in a movie that almost no one was waiting for. This biopic about Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic, seems to have flown out of the Hollywood machine with every cliché and formulaic fixture intact. Currently scoring a 22% on Rottentomatoes.com, I’ll wager that it’ll probably experience some serious turbulence in the box office.

Starring Cherry Jones as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Richard Gere as her husband, »

- Raiden251

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Movie Review: “Ong Bak 2”

23 October 2009 10:30 AM, PDT | screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news »

Seen on: October 21, 2009

The players: Directors: Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai, Writers: Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai, Cast: Tony Jaa, Santisuk Promsiri, Sarunyoo Wongkrachang

Facts of interest: Prequel to "Ong Bak."

The plot: After Tien sees his parents get murdered, he's picked up by a group of warriors who teach him martial arts.

Our thoughts: Tony Jaa returns to kicking major ass in “Ong Bak 2,” a film that boasts an impressive photography but eventually suffers from many overlong scenes and monotonous action. As expected, a story is pretty much nonexistent, and while the film is not entirely boring, it still failed to win me over. »

- Franck Tabouring

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Movie Review: Ong Bak 2: The Beginning

22 October 2009 9:00 PM, PDT | MovieRetriever | See recent MovieRetriever news »

Oct 23, 2009

If I was still an impressionable young man more easily swayed by the martial arts skills of the cinematic heroes of my youth like Bruce Lee then I think I might have a Tony Jaa poster on my wall. Honestly, the guy totally kicks ass. Despite rumors of the actor/director losing his mind in the Cambodian jungles a la Coppola on Apocalypse Now, the film that resulted, Ong Bak 2: The Beginning features an international star at the top of his particular game right now, delivering continuously impressive vehicles for his gritty, ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com »

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‘Ong Bak 2: The Beginning’ Review

22 October 2009 6:19 PM, PDT | ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news »

Short version: Ong Bak 2: The Beginning isn’t for everyone, but for action junkies, it provides exactly what you’d expect.

Screen Rant’s Ross Miller reviews Ong Bak 2

The first Ong Bak (subtitled Muay Thai Warrior) I found to be quite entertaining, with some seriously kick-ass fight sequences, consisting of some often jaw-dropping choreography and stunts. Unfortunately, there were also some not-so-great aspects, notably the poor acting and thin storyline. But overall there was enough there to make it worthwhile, and it was pretty much inevitable that another movie would follow.

It’s no surprise to find that Ong Bak 2, or Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, is practically more of the same, but it manages to get rid of (or at least better mask) the bad elements, while subsequently improving on the fight sequences (if you can believe it).

 

Ong Bak 2 is actually a prequel to Ong Bak, »

- Ross Miller

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2009 | 2008

1-20 of 138 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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